10 best electric cars to buy in 2024

More and more buyers are wondering about switching from petrol or diesel to a battery-powered model

Thinking of buying an electric car? You’re not the only one, as more and more buyers are wondering about when to switch from petrol or diesel to a battery-powered model.

There’s good news if you’ve decided to make the leap: the market is brimming with brilliant options. Indeed, it feels like each week, a new electric car (EV) comes out that provides more range, more equipment or a lower price, or even a combination of all three.

To keep up, we’ve revised our list of the 10 best electric cars. It is not exhaustive; there are plenty more excellent EVs on sale, and indeed it’s taken no small amount of teeth gnashing, hair pulling and some heated discussion to come up with this ranking.

With that in mind, it’s important to remember that these cars are very closely matched; there are no bad cars here, while several very good EVs missed out by mere fractions of a hair’s breadth. Some of these include the delightfully pugilistic Abarth 500e, the surprisingly comfortable and recently updated Citroën ë-C4 and the unexpectedly lithe Lotus Eletre, to name a few.

And there are some potentially very exciting EVs arriving soon, too – most notably the Citroën ë-C3 and Dacia Spring, which promise to bring down the cost of electric motoring at last. We’ll keep this list updated as and when they do. For now, though, and in reverse order, here are our picks of the EV market today.

NB: All prices quoted are ‘On The Road’. Where quoted, range and energy consumption figures were obtained using the official WLTP Combined test cycle.

Top 10 electric cars to buy in 2024

10. Skoda Enyaq

Price: from £44,540

WLTP range: 348 miles

Recent updates have brought the Enyaq’s range into contention with some much pricier machinery – and given the vast amount of space in this big, comfy SUV, that makes it look like pretty decent value by comparison. Granted, the Enyaq is a bit plain compared with most electric SUVs of its ilk, but there’s something to be said for that – and from inside, you probably won’t mind due to its well-finished interior. The touchscreen is still a bugbear, but with that exception, the Enyaq is now a really strong option.

9. BYD Seal

Price: from £45,695

WLTP range: 323-354 miles

The Chinese firm’s LFP battery technology lends the Seal two key advantages: first, it won’t catch fire if it’s punctured, making it safer in a crash than most EVs; and second, it’s expected to experience far lower-range degradation, although quite whether that turns out to be the case remains to be seen. The downside is that it takes longer to charge for the same range, because it’s less energy-dense. The Seal itself is a neat EV, though, with a well-judged ride-and-handling balance and an unusually styled yet slick interior.

8. Kia EV6

Price: from £45,275

WLTP range: 300-328 miles

Until very recently, the EV6 was our favourite electric car; it still boasts many of the traits that made it so, namely a composed and comfortable driving experience, a smart interior, loads of space and a useful range – though on this last point, several cars have now overtaken the EV6, which is why it’s fallen down the table a little. Despite this, it’s still worthy of consideration given its rapid charging speeds, generous equipment and concept car styling.

7. MG4

Price: from £26,995

WLTP range: 218-323 miles

Undoubtedly the value option here, it’s hard to look past the MG4 simply because it offers so much for so little. Entry-level models allow buyers who rarely venture out of town to go electric for far less than most; top-spec cars, meanwhile, offer genuinely usable long-distance ranges and high equipment levels for the same price that most of its rivals start at. It isn’t quite as polished inside as the best, nor quite as slick to drive – but these foibles are forgivable with such value on offer.

6. Polestar 2

Price: from £44,950

WLTP range: from 313-406 miles

The 2 is another car that sat at the top of our table until recently, but the arrival of several fresher, more competitive rivals has knocked it back a little. Having said that, this is still one of the longest-range EVs money can buy and with that in mind its high prices feel a little more reasonable. It’s a shame the ride isn’t more pliant, but the pay-off is that the 2 is a really reassuring machine to drive.

5. Volkswagen ID.7

Price: from £51,550

WLTP range: 383 miles

There’s no doubt about it: the ID.7 is Volkswagen’s best electric car yet. That’s largely thanks to the new touchscreen system, which does away with some – if not all – of the failings of those fitted to the smaller ID.3 and ID.4, as well as a higher-quality interior that feels far more in keeping. The ID.7 is also vast – it’s almost the size of a Tesla Model S, though costs much less, which makes it extraordinarily spacious, very practical and surprisingly decent value. It’s very energy-efficient, too.

4. Kia EV9

Price: from £65,025

WLTP range: 322-338 miles

The EV9 is the most expensive EV here, and then some, because it’s at its best in all-wheel-drive form, with an extraordinarily comfortable, quiet ride quality. But look what you get for the money: an equipment list as long as your arm, a very usable range and a vast, airy interior replete with seven genuinely usable, adult-sized chairs (each of which has its own USB plug). The EV9 isn’t the first seven-seat EV, but it’s the first that works quite this well for all its passengers – on that basis, it might just be worth the money.

3. BMW i4

Price: from £50,755

WLTP range: 285-365 miles

See past the i4’s love-it-or-loathe-it grille and you’ll find a four-door coupé of prodigious talent. It’s a joy to drive, with fluent chassis feedback and brilliant steering, and it rides with the sort of quality we’ve come to expect from BMW – and that many electric cars struggle to match. The long, low coupé-style form factor means it’s efficient, too, while the hatchback boot opening makes it more versatile than a Tesla Model 3; the big battery, meanwhile, means there’s a long and very usable range.

2. Tesla Model 3

Price: from £39,995

WLTP range: 318-390 miles

The Model 3 isn’t quite as slick nor as usable as the BMW i4, but it pips its chief competitor largely because it’s so much more affordable. And after recent upgrades, it’s better than ever with a more pliant ride, improvements to interior quality and better throttle modulation. Act quickly, though, because Tesla won’t be able to hold prices this low for long if it’s to stay in business – and if prices increase, the Model 3’s appeal will be dented, if only slightly.

1. Hyundai Kona Electric

Price: from £34,995

WLTP range: 234-319 miles

We thought carefully about placing this in the top spot, but it’s here because it is a paean to common sense – an attribute sadly lacking in many an EV. There’s a rear wiper, for one thing; inside, there are proper buttons and stalks for pretty much every major function, rather than touchpads or a distracting touchscreen. The body control isn’t great around faster bends, but you’re not going to be slinging the Kona around anyway, so that doesn’t matter so much; what you do get, however, is a delightfully smooth ride, as well as lots of space in the rear seats and the boot. The 65kWh battery is big enough for a respectable range without being too heavy, while the price is pretty sensible, too; the Kona is roughly on par spec-for-spec with Hyundai’s hybrid Tucson. It may not be the EV everyone is talking about, then, but the Kona has quietly sneaked to the top of the class thanks to a dose of good sense.